1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to conduits and, in particular, to a conduit for preventing discharged liquid from contaminating the water supply of a plumbing system when the discharge side of the plumbing system becomes blocked.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A plumbing system, or the outlet of apparatus in liquid communication with the supply and discharge of the plumbing system, can become blocked during use. If a portion of the discharge side of a plumbing system becomes blocked, liquid discharged by apparatus into the blocked portion can back up into the discharging apparatus and contaminate the water supply of the plumbing system. Accordingly, such a situation must be avoided if the integrity of the water supply system of a building or a geographical area is to be maintained.
Workers in the field have devised a variety of ways of preventing liquid discharged from apparatus in liquid communication with a plumbing system from reentering the apparatus and contaminating the water supply of the system when the discharge side of the plumbing through which the discharged liquid is intended to flow becomes blocked. In the case of sterilizers, a bracket is mounted to the discharge pipe of the sterilizer and a funnel with an open top is mounted to the bracket beneath it. Accordingly, when the outlet of the funnel or the discharge side of the plumbing system into which the funnel normally directs discharged liquid becomes blocked, water backs up in the funnel and flows over the top edge of the funnel rather than reentering the sterilizer. The major disadvantage associated with the use of such a funnel is the splashing that occurs when neither the funnel nor the discharge side of the plumbing system is blocked and the sterilizer is discharging liquid into the funnel. Some of the discharged liquid splashes as it strikes the interior of the funnel, leaves the funnel through its open top and collects on the floor in the vicinity of the sterilizer, causing safety problems and, possibly, damaging material with which it comes into contact.
Therefore, a need exists for a conduit which passes discharged liquid to the discharge side of a plumbing system, that prevents the discharged liquid from reentering the apparatus which discharged it when either the conduit or the discharge side of the plumbing system becomes blocked, and which prevents the discharged liquid from splashing out of the conduit unless such a blockage occurs.